The woman contracted a fatal infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba and died eight days after developing symptoms.

The woman contracted a fatal infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba and died eight days after developing symptoms.

A Texas woman died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba days after she cleaned her sinuses using tap water, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case report.

The woman, an otherwise healthy 71-year-old, developed “severe neurologic symptoms,” including fever, headache and an altered mental status, four days after she filled a nasal irrigation device with tap water from her RV’s water system at a Texas campsite, the CDC report said.

She was treated for primary amebic meningoencephalitis — a brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, often referred to as the “brain-eating amoeba.” Despite treatment, the woman experienced seizures and died from the infection eight days after she developed symptoms, the agency said.

  • grysbokEnglish
    4·
    6 days ago

    They even make nasal irrigation devices with built-in filters! Mine’s a store brand from a local pharmacy.

          • grysbokEnglish
            1·
            6 days ago

            Not according to the literature that comes with the device.

              • grysbokEnglish
                6·
                6 days ago

                The built-in water filter meets the CDC recommendation for nasal washing with tap water*. This provides peace of mind, while also eliminating the cost of bottled water or the inconvenience of boiling and pre-filtering tap water†.

                †The Micro-Filtered System is intended as a final filter for tap water that is known to be safe for drinking.

                *This product has been tested and certified to meet NSF/ANSI Std. 53, a drinking water standard for cyst reduction.

                [Step 5] Fill the bottle with warm tap water to the 8 oz mark indicated on the bottle. Make sure the white check valve located on the shoulder of the bottle is present and in place. Test water temperature before using. Use saline solution promptly, do not save or store for future use.

                Source: PDF instructions from the page I previously linked to.

                • Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                  2·
                  6 days ago

                  I wouldn’t trust that product. The labelling is misleading - this isn’t drinking water, so the same precautions don’t apply. If they don’t provide safe instructions, there’s no guarantee that they used safe materials.

                • jagged_circle@feddit.nlEnglish
                  21·
                  6 days ago

                  Yeah, they’re just expecting that you boil it. Because even bottled water, you’re gonna have to boil before using it as a nasal rinse